The name of that flower
by Ejes
Summary: On that day, they wore the same flower. On that other day, too. And they would keep on wearing it on any important day of their life. Demyx asks Larxene how she became friend with Marluxia, and this took her to the day this flower started to mean something. (Earth AU)


_**Today is May 1st, and I don't know if the same tradition exists where you live, but in my country we bring Lily ****of the**** valley to our loved ones. Ain't got any lily for you guys, but please accept another flower instead.**_

* * *

"Say, Larxene? Can I ask you something… Personal?"

They were alone in the club room, Larxene learning her lines for the next representation, and Demyx doing… Whatever Demyx usually did. She had learnt to not pay him attention and pretend he wasn't there so she really had no idea what he could be doing. She sighed, putting down her script and looking at him.

"If I say no, will you leave me alone?"

He pouted, looking away. She wanted to go back to her lines, but there was just something about the way he twitched his fingers, the really disappointed look on his face that caught her attention. What could be so important?

"Fine. Ask. But don't expect me to answer."

"Marluxia and you, you were friends before, right? I just wanted to know how you met."

She frowned. "You actually interrupted me to ask me a boring story of how I met my childhood friend at school? For real?"

"But there's more than that, isn't it? More than just school friends. Am I wrong?"

She finally noticed what he had been doing. He was holding the picture they took a couple of months ago, and looking at it. The whole Drama Club, with all its fourteen members. It had been such a mess to take this picture. First off, gathering everyone had been troublesome. This club had permanent members, and honorary ones who were working people. Finding a day when everyone was available had been a pain. Then, of course, finding how to place people, with half of them being bloody giants and the other half (and Larxene included herself in there) being midgets, having everyone fit into the frame took an hour. The fact that they all bickered almost all the time, of course, had not helped much either. They all were wearing suits, looking absolutely gorgeous in her opinion, and they all had been wearing a flower to the buttonhole. Everyone had picked a different flower, if not for two of them : Marluxia and Larxene had been wearing the exact same one, a bird of paradise flower, and they had insisted they didn't mind wearing the same one, and that it was actually really important.

She smiled. Of course it was important. This might even be the reason they ended up here, miles and miles away from their hometown.

"I hope you like long and gloomy stories, then, because this is exactly what this is going to be."

Demyx nodded in silence, looking like a kid waiting for a bedtime story. She sat back on her chair, trying to remember it all.

* * *

No matter how strange it may sound, when it all started, Larxene was a scout. Of course, her name wasn't Larxene either, as the X names were just their stage names in the club, but Elrena. She was in a group with other scout girls, learning to tie knots, find their way in the forest and selling cookies, when the girl disappeared.

They lived in a small town. Everyone knew everyone. Everyone trusted everyone. But one day, one of the scout girls disappeared, and suddenly no one knew who to trust.

Her name was Strelitzia. Elrena barely knew her, she knew her face but they never really talked. Strelitzia was a year younger, really shy, and Elrena could barely remember the sound of her voice. How did she disappear? No one knew. One day, she went to school and never came home. The police had no idea what happened. Suspicion grew. Kids weren't allowed to come home alone anymore, or to wander off in the woods. Elrena was only ten, and like any other kid, seeing the adults being frightened frightened her too, and for a while, she did as she was told. Don't talk to strangers. Lower your head, walk fast, always carry a whistle and pepper spray in case of danger, never stop on your way home. But after a few months, she got tired of living in fear. She was just a kid and she didn't want to be afraid. So she decided not to be.

After the fear came the harsh words. Words adults thought and never said out loud, words their children would mindlessly repeat. The scout girls were the worst for this, as Elrena quickly understood. Strelitzia didn't really have friends here, as she never talked to anyone - but as far as Elrena remembered, she was nice, polite and smiled a lot. "I never liked her anyway." "Remember how slow she was? Every trip would take forever with her!" "What kind of name was that? I'm glad I never talked to her, I never could say it right!" "One thing's for sure, I don't miss her!" "Who? Never heard of her before!" "I'm sure her parents did that." That was the day Elrena was expelled from the scouts, for breaking another girl's nose and slapping three of them. She never really fit in anyway. And the cookies were overpriced.

It took one girl disappearing, a few months and an expulsion for the two of them to actually meet - it was their first day of middle school and they ended up in the same class, sitting next to each other for a boring maths lesson.

"Nice hair. All natural?" She finally asked after staring at him for at least twenty minutes. He looked surprised.

"Yes. It's always been pink." His voice was a gentle whisper as he answered, and she smiled at him.

"Cool! I'm Elrena, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lauriam."

Of course she knew who he was. This was a small town, and a last name carried your family history with it, especially such recent and tragic events. But maths class wasn't the best place to talk about this, so she just politely smiled and focused back on the lesson.

At lunch, she asked if she could sit with him. He was alone, and so was she, and he accepted.

"How come you don't have primary school friends to eat with you?" he asked as they were eating, and she winced.

"How rude! What if I had no friend? That would be very insensitive of you."

"You look like the type of girl who always can find someone to hang out with. I mean, this is our first day and you already talked to me." To that, she lightly chuckled.

"Fair enough. Let's just say that a lot of my old friends stopped talking to me last summer after a… regretful even. But I could ask you just the same. You look nice and polite. Why no friend around?" His face got all gloomy, and she could easily guess why, but she didn't feel bad. His question had been rude, even if he hadn't mean to, and she was all for equality.

"Let's just say that a lot of my old friends stopped talking to me a while ago after a… For reasons."

She smiled. He tried to mimic her, even though he was hurt. She liked him. "Your sister, you mean?"

He stayed silent for a while. She didn't talk. She gave him time. After a couple of minutes, he sighed. "So you knew. Of course you did. So what, you're here because you pity me?" This time, he really sounded hurt, but she laughed it off, which took him by surprise.

"Pity? No. You know, I knew her. We were scouts together. Not much of a talker, so I can't say we were friends, but she was nice. Talked about her big brother, sometimes. Said he was sweet and bought her candies when her parents weren't looking. I don't have any sibling, so I was curious. Wanted to see if you were as nice as she depicted you."

"What's your opinion so far?" She could see he was still trying to judge her, decide if she was alright or not. She crossed her arms.

"Well, first thing I told you was that I liked your hair, first thing you told me was I had no friends, what do you think my opinion could be?"

"My apologies. I didn't mean to offend you." He did look a bit more relaxed, though, and even smiled a bit. "So you said you are a scout?"

"_Were_ a scout," she corrected. "Told you. Regretful event happened last summer."

Something clicked in his head and she could almost hear it. He gasped. "You're her. That girl. My parents said a girl was expelled from the scouts for violence towards other kids."

"Guilty as charged."

"You don't really look violent. No one ever told me what happened, but there has to be a reason, right? Or are you going to stab me with your fork?"

She looked at her fork with a feigned interest before shrugging. "Nah, don't want to waste this nice piece of cutlery. And they were being rude, hypocrite little bitches, so I taught them a good lesson."

"You're the rude one here."

"If you think _I_ am rude you should have heard them." She frowned. "Actually, no. You shouldn't. You wouldn't have liked it at all."

"It was about my sister, wasn't it? It's always about her. People think I can't hear them, and I've heard them said the most terrible things. And I've heard these girls before… Were they rude towards Strelitzia?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

They finished lunch in silence, and moved to their next class without a word. They only talked about class related things for the rest of the day, and when they went home after class, they barely exchanged a Goodbye.

Lauriam came back the next morning with a bag of candies. He was nice, polite, and smiled a lot. He was more talkative than his sister, but Elrena wondered if she would have acted the same way, had she made the effort to really talk to her.

They would have lunch together. Study together. And soon enough, you wouldn't be able to see one without the other. His parents were lovely, and treated her as one of theirs. Her parents treated Lauriam the very same way. His parents even thanked her for making him smile again.

Sometimes, they would talk about Strelitzia. Elrena didn't have many stories to share, but he didn't mind even when she told stories she had told before. And he had a lot to tell. Sometimes, he would lower his guard and allow himself to cry in front of her. She never made fun of him. She'd bring him some tea, take his hand and wait until he'd calm down.

Two years after Strelitzia disappeared, her parents finally accepted to have funerals. They buried an empty casket, and they would never stop questioning what happened to her, but it still helped them accept she wouldn't come back. Elrena came to the ceremony. It was the first time she attended funerals. She took Lauriam's hand and never let go.

Years flew by, and they grew closer by the day. While Lauriam was the gentle, considerate type (and extremely good to get what he wanted, although only Elrena knew this side of him), Elrena was rebellious, really direct and obnoxious most of the time. Their friendship looked very unlikely, and yet, they couldn't really imagine living without the other. Which was why she kept her dream a secret to him until it was almost too late.

"I want to be an actress. I've never wanted something more in my life, and there's this college really far away with a really renowned course, but I don't know if I…"

"You should go. You will make a wonderful actress, El. You really should go."

"I'm not leaving you behind. I'm sure I can find decent courses here too. I don't want to… I don't want to be alone."

He chuckled, gently flicking her forehead. "I knew you would say that. And you won't be alone."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused by his grin.

"I mean we both applied to this school already, and I'd say our chances are pretty high." She was even more confused now, his words not making any sense. He continued. "I knew you wanted to go to this school. You've been looking at their website for weeks now, even though you never told me. Did you really think I wouldn't notice? I asked your parents, and they said you were still thinking about it, but considering not going. You're not throwing that dream of yours because of me. And just so that you know, I have dreams too." He winked. "What would be an actress without her official costume designer? You're not getting rid of me that easily, Ma'am. Which is exactly why I applied in your name and in mine for that school, where we-" he was interrupted when she threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight. She buried her face into his chest, refusing to let him see her cry, but he probably guessed as he gently rocked her. She was so happy. This was a huge weight off her shoulders. He was the most important person in her life, and this dream mattered just as much, and not having to chose was the best feeling ever.

When the letters got there, they waited to be together to open them. Without much of a surprise, they both were admitted. A week before classes started, they packed their things, said goodbye to their parents, left flowers on Strelitzia's grave and got into a plane. They moved in together in a nice flat, setting clear rules of "warn me before inviting someone over and always knock before coming in", and they were ready to pursue their dreams.

On their first day of class, as a good luck charm, they both wore a Bird of Paradise flower on their jackets. This flower was the symbol of their friendship. The symbol of what should never be forgotten.

On their second week, they signed up for the drama club that was open for high schoolers, college students and even outsiders. Strangely enough, there were only ten people in it when they got here, all a bunch of weirdos who insisted they all should wear nicknames that consisted of their names with an X, but they felt like they might just fit in.

And there they were now, third year of college, still having the most peculiar friendship ever, never having considered the other one romantically for a second despite all the rumors, each day a step closer to their dream.

* * *

She smiled in her chair. Things had changed so much.

"Larxene? Is everything alright?"

She looked at Demyx, still smiling, and she laughed. This probably wasn't a sound he really was used to, because he furrowed his brows, half smiling.

"We met in middle school. I said I liked his hair. He said I had no friends. We became friends. End of the story."

"What? But… You said this would be long and gloomy!"

"Well, it was ten years ago, so I'd say it's a pretty long time, and seeing your face is gloomy everytime!"

Demyx frowned, unsatisfied, while she laughed some more. She got up, sitting next to him to have a look at the picture.

"Do you know what kind of flower that is?" she asked, pointing the one Marluxia and her were wearing.

"This? It's a Bird of Paradise, isn't it?"

"That's right. But it has got another name. Some people call it a Strelitzia. You don't need to know everything about it, but just know that this is a very important flower for him and for me. That's all there is to know."

Confused, Demyx looked at the picture in silence, while she walked to the door. But right before she left, the musician called her.

"Larxene? You said that when you became friend with him, he said you had no friends. That's not true anymore. You've got a lot of friends here. You'll always have."

Her instincts told her to say something mean, but she was genuinely surprised, and nostalgia improved her mood, so instead she just smiled.

"I know. They're weird, but they are the greatest."

* * *

_**If anyone ever watched Ano Hana, I considered going full Menma here, but in the end I went for something lighter. In the first dialogue I wrote between El and Lau, she was being so rude to him he would never have spoken to her again XDD Last side note, I've been waiting for the global KHUX update to be sure her name would be Elrena and not Erlena in official content, I'm glad it is!**_

_**Hope you guys enjoyed, make sure to leave a review if you did :D**_


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